Oh, Deer! IV
The deer are increasing in number, according to both my own observations and official counts. This evening, we had four of them in our front yard; They were just passing through, heading south to wherever it is that they go. They stopped and nibbled a bit of grass here and there, and checked out the bird-bath to see if there was any water in it. There wasn't (I've been rather busy and had neglected to refill it), so they all stopped for a drink at the dugout instead. I see that Bushnell makes a motion-activated wildlife camera; It might be something to consider setting up if they're not overly expensive.
The last two days have been a bit of a bummer as far as getting anything done. trixstir had to go to Swift Curent on Monday, so I spent the afternoon at the bowling alley, and once again we had no customers. Even our regular seniors were a no-show, which I sort of expected given that with the warm weather they were probably all puttering about in their gardens. "Or at a funeral," says Trixstir, so I really hope that it was the former. It's taken a while, but I've finally procured all the parts I need to fix the JD mower-deck, and right now I'm just waiting for the first coat of paint to dry. Tomorrow I'll add a second coat, and that should be enough. The grass seems to be growing at nearly an inch per day, so I really need to get that thing working again. I've been trying to keep up with the 21" mower, but that's basically only good for the smaller areas. Of course, I have the huge 5' mower on the Massey, but I'm still a little leery about that. I need to find some documentation on it so that I can find out how to service it properly (re: lubrication, etc.) I'm also not entirely sure that I'm adjusting or using the 3-point-hitch properly, and I'd hate to bugger that up. I know I have everything connected properly, what I'm unsure of are the controls for adjusting the height. There seem to be three levers involved, which allow you to set the range and such. An owner's manual would be very helpful.
The one advantage of using the push-mower is that I can bag the clippings for the horses. Don't worry, I'm not just dumping them in a big pile where they'll ferment and cause colic or founder; I scatter the clippings all over in their paddocks, so they actually have move around and basically "graze" to get them. This also means that the majority of the grass will be dry by the time they get to it, so there's less chance of any problems. I've been doing this with PoohBear and Dirk all their lives, and they certainly enjoy the treat. I've had concerns that PoohBear is getting too thin and that Dirk has been bullying him for the best food, but while he has lost weight, he's still got plenty of flesh on his bones. Running your hands along his sides, you have to press pretty hard to feel his ribs and you can definitely feel a good layer of horseflesh before you feel any ribs. He's probably closer to an ideal weight than he has been for most of his life, which is why he looks so thin to me.
I've been losing some weight too; I've dropped about five pounds in the last week alone! That's another reason I rather like the smaller push-mower; Yes, it's a lot more work, but I need the exercise!